Scottish Welfare Fund

Who qualifies?

You must be 16 or over and on a low income to apply for help from the Scottish Welfare Fund and normally be entitled to one of the following benefits (although this is not essential):

Universal Credit

Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit)

The Scottish Welfare Fund is a discretionary scheme and so a grant will be based on our assessment of your circumstances.

The severity of your situation and the likely impact on you and your family will be the key test which will determine whether or not you qualify for a crisis grant.

Retaining or establishing a settled way of life in the community is the key test for qualifying for a community care grant.

If you are in receipt of Universal Credit you should apply for a short-term benefit advance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This must be done within 21 days of your Universal Credit claim date.

Who won't qualify

You won’t qualify for a grant if you:

have made a claim for a DWP benefit (external link) and it is delayed. If this happens you can apply for a short-term benefit advance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

have already received 3 crisis grants in the last 12 months. Only in exceptional circumstances will we be able to consider a further one off payment

have already applied for the same item in the last 28 days unless your circumstances have changed